STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: Riders rally twice to finish third

Published 11:00 am Sunday, May 24, 2026

SELAH — After being upset by Archbishop Thomas Murphy in the second round of the state 2A tournament, the Port Angeles softball team rallied with four straight wins, three of them by one run, against some of the best teams in the state to finish third in the state.

It was the third straight year the Roughriders have placed at state. They finished second last year and fourth in 2024. They also finished among the top eight in the state in 2023.

Port Angeles, a No. 3 seed, lost to No. 11 ATM 7-5 on Friday, sending the Riders to the consolation bracket and taking away their opportunity to play for the state title. The Roughriders didn’t hang their heads, however, bouncing back with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over their Olympic League rival North Kitsap on Friday night. Port Angeles went 3-1 in four games against North Kitsap this season.

On Saturday, the Riders came from behind again to beat Ridgefield 6-5 in eight innings, then beat Lynden 8-7 to qualify for the third-place game. They played another league rival, Olympic, in the third-place game. The Trojans made it to that game despite being a No. 15 seed. Port Angeles won easily 10-3 for their fourth straight win.

ATM ended up not placing. Mark Morris, the No. 1 seed in the state, won the state championship game 9-5 over W.F. West.

Throughout the tournament, Morgan Politika was absolutely unconscious at the plate for the Roughriders. She crushed five home runs, including a grand slam against North Kitsap and a dramatic three-run bomb with two outs in the seventh inning to tie Ridgefield. She ended up driving in 14 runs in four games tournament.

In the Olympic game, fellow senior Kennedy Rognlien, who has been a huge part of the three teams that placed, hit a two-run home run in her final game for Port Angeles. Senior Lynzee Reid, another big part of the 2024-26 teams, also was solid, pitching 20 innings in the tournament.

The Riders finished the season 24-4. Over the past three years, Port Angeles is 69-12.

Port Angeles began the tournament beating Clarkston 5-3 on Friday morning. That game was reported in Saturday’s Peninsula Daily News. Other games included:

ATM 7, Port Angeles 5

Port Angeles fell behind 7-3 to the Wildcats and rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh but could never catch up. Politika went 2-3 with a home run, Mikkhia Stevens hit an RBI double in the seventh and Rognlien was 2-for 4.

ATM 7, Port Angeles 5

ATM 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 — 7 10 3

PA 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 — 5 8 0

Pitching

PA — Reid 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER; Ritchie 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER; Leitz 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 K.

Hitting

PA — Rognlien 2-4, R; Politika 2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI; Stevens 1-2, 2B, RBI.

Port Angeles 4 North Kitsap 3

Politika’s grand slam was the difference in this game as the Riders rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the sixth inning.

The Riders rallied when Mariah Disque drew a walk, Reid singled and Rognlien was hit by a pitch. On an 0-2 count, Politika belted her home run. Reid finished 2-for-3 and pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs on five hits. She struck out two and walked one.

No box score was available for this game.

Saturday’s games

Port Angeles 6 Ridgefield 5

Port Angeles rallied from a 4-0 deficit as Allison Leitz, who will be the Riders’ No. 1 pitcher next year, came in relief, allowing two hits and one run over four innings to keep Port Angeles in the game.

Politika drove in two runs in the third with a double to make the score 4-2.

Still down 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mariah Disque hit a double and Rognlien walked. With two outs, Politika hit another home run to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Reid, who started, came back in the game in relief and pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, Stevens singled and moved to second on a Leitz sacrifice bunt. Sophia Ritchie followed with a walk-off game-winning double to score Stevens.

Port Angeles 6, Ridgefield 5, 8 inn.

RF 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 — 5 11 0

PA 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 — 6 8 0

Pitching

PA — Reid 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER; Leitz 4.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 3 K.

Hitting

PA — Politika 2-3, HR, 2B, R, 5 RBI; Reid 2-4, Disque 2-3. 2B, Traband 1-3, 2B.

Port Angeles 8 Lynden 7

Again, Politika was the big star, hitting a three-run home run in the third inning, then another three-run HR in the fourth. Nyomie Colfax also had a crucial RBI triple to the right-field wall.

Down 8-6 in the seventh inning, Lynden tried to rally with a solo home run, but Leitz was able to slam the door to end the game to send Port Angeles to the third-place game.

Port Angeles 8, Lynden 7

Lyn. 1 0 0 5 0 0 1 — 7 11 0

PA 0 0 4 4 0 0 x — 8 6 1

Pitching

PA — Reid 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 K; Leitz 3 IP, 3 ER, 3 K.

Hitting

PA — Politika 2-3, 2 HR, 6 RBIs, 2 R; Rognlien 1-3, 2 R, RBI; Reid 1-1, 2 R; Colfax 1-4, 3B, RBI.

Third-place Game

Port Angeles 10, Olympic 3

Unlike the three previous one-run games, this contest was never seriously in doubt as Port Angeles got up 7-0 early.

In her final game for the Riders, Rognlien went 3-4 with an RBI double, a two-run home run, two runs scored, four RBIs and a stolen base. In her final game, Reid went 3⅔ innings, allowing two hits and an earned run. She struck out one.

Colfax was 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. Stevens was 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Port Angeles 10, Olympic 3

Oly. 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 — 3 6 1

PA 2 1 1 3 0 3 x — 10 9 0

Pitching

PA — Leitz 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER; Reid 3.2 IP, 2 H, ER, K.

Hitting

PA — Rognlien 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB; Colfax 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI; Traband 1-3, 2B, 2 R; Stevens 1-4, R, RBI.